Alternative Eighteen
by JRastelliAuthor
Summary: My version of what could have happened in Hawaii and the repercussions upon coming home. Babe story. Rated M because I'm told I curse too much, and maybe I will try to write smut.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me, but to JE**

 **A/N: Don't kill me for starting a new one, but I really wanted to maybe write another one with a decent plot line like WTS and less fluffy like everything else is currently. I've been toying with my own idea for an Alternative to Explosive Eighteen because, well, I have been. This one will be a Babe, and probably follow along with canon more closely than my other ones. I can't guarantee the chapters will all be as long as this one, but I felt like it was a solid start for you guys.**

Chapter One

You know that saying, What happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas? Well, I wish there was a version of that for Hawaii, because I sure wish I didn't have to explain this crap to my family and friends here in Trenton.

To think it all started with a homicidal maniac who enjoyed a good pork chop, too. Dave. His name was Dave, and I'm going to pin this absolute entire mess onto that bastard. It's his fault, after all, right? I wouldn't have been in Hawaii if not for him and his crazy.

A few weeks ago, I had had dealings with crazy Dave, who went on a killing spree in Trenton, New Jersey. He'd left corpses as presents for me at my place of employment, and then he'd ended up as a corpse himself.

Mind you, this was after he offered to take me on a special vacation because what we had was once in a lifetime.

Once in a lifetime crazy, that is.

So I was left with these gift cards to travel the damn world if I wanted to, and instead I opted for an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii. During that trip, crazy shit went down and now I am here, in New Jersey, forced to try to make sense of it all.

But oh, I don't have to make sense of it just to myself. I have to make sense of it to everyone else in my life, too, and none of them are giving me a second to have peace to figure out what the fuck just happened. I have whiplash from the questions being fired at me from all directions, almost.

My name is Stephanie Plum and I am a very lucky, below average bounty hunter. I hate my gun, I love tastycakes, and my life is a mess all the time. All. Of. It. I have shoulder length wavy brown hair, blue eyes, and an okay enough face. Nothing about me except my cars was earth shattering, and even they only achieved that status because they constantly exploded.

I am currently sitting in the bonds office my cousin owns, and that I am employed at. Two of my best friends are firing questions at me, wondering about the tan line around my left hand ring finger, and what exactly I did in Hawaii. I didn't really have any good answers for them, mostly because I was a little confused what had happened and I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to talk about.

Connie is the office manager, and she has big black hair, dark eyes, and the body of an Italian mob princess. She's Italian to her core, and if you pissed her off enough she had connections, if you know what I mean. She spent more time painting her nails than she did actually working, and her stress free lifestyle kept her looking closer to my thirty two than her forty.

Lula is the file clerk, or as she prefers to be called, assistant bounty hunter. She rarely files, instead opting to read Cosmo and join me for ride alongs on my day to day. Lula is a size sixteen black woman squeezed into size ten spandex, and it's usually either bright, animal print, or both. Today she had on a yellow and green neon zebra print skirt that barely covered the promise land, and a frighteningly white shirt exposing her acres of cleavage. I loved Lula, but her clothing gave me a headache at least half the time.

I felt the tingle at the back of my neck the same time that Lula and Connie stopped peppering me with questions. That tingle meant one thing.

"Ladies. Babe," he said, entering the office. I looked out the window and saw his newest Porsche 911 convertible sitting outside.

He retreated into the inner sanctum of my cousin Vinnie's office, and I sighed. This was not going to be pleasant.

"Girl, the look he just gave you made me want to run in fear and take my panties off for him the same time!" Lula exclaimed.

Connie just nodded and I shrugged. We stayed silent, trying to hear something from Vinnie's office but fortunately he had picked a sound proof door since he remodeled the office. I say this because Vinnie spends a lot of naked quality time with barnyard animals and STD ridden whores, and it was nice to not have to hear the barking, neighing, quacking, or oinking.

He left the office after a few minutes with a file in his hand, and he stopped in front of where I was sitting on the couch. He bent down and pressed a quick kiss to my lips, before turning to walk out the door.

"Let me know when you're ready to work things out, Mrs. Manoso."

Fuck.

Lula and Connie's eyes went wide and their jaws dropped in shock. Ranger, my dear sweet husband, walked out the door with a laugh and I was left to try to explain what had happened to make us married, and more importantly in their minds, why I wasn't currently naked with the man.

When I had gotten to Hawaii, I had seen one of the skips I knew Ranger had been looking for. I wasn't authorized to apprehend this guy, kindly known as The Rug, because of his crimes and bond level. He was on the FBI most wanted list, too.

Because I wasn't allowed to apprehend him, I just followed him around for awhile until I figured out where he was staying. I then called Ranger with the information and he took the next flight out. Our biggest problem, or Ranger's biggest problem anyway, was that The Rug was staying in a couples only resort and it was Married Couples Week. Ranger had asked me for my help and from my look at him of what the hell am I supposed to do, he decided to devise a plan by himself.

His plan included us getting married, for real, on the beach. In Hawaii.

It sounded like a horrible idea to me, because he always said he didn't love me that way, that marriage wasn't in the cards for him, that his life doesn't lend itself to relatoionships, and then he planned my dream wedding on a beach, complete with the casually sexy dress I would have chosen for myself if given the choice.

Because in the end, I did want to be married to Ranger, even if only for a moment, I went ahead and agreed to the wedding. In my defense, I had also had a few cocktails and I wasn't exactly one hundred percent clear headed. I found myself walking down a sandy aisle with seashells lining the sides to Ranger in a pair of white cotton pants and an unbuttoned white cotton shirt that contrasted beautifully against his eight pack and pecs. Ranger was a sexy, sexy man and for the time we were in Hawaii at least, he was all mine.

My dress was a see through white gauzy confection that trailed behind me in the sand. It had a halter top and the front was a v-neck. The back of the dress was almost backless, with just a single chain going from one shoulder to the other with a diamond that dipped down to just over my bottom. I had on a white one piece underneath it that came with the dress, to keep it demure. the neckline and the back followed the line of the dress perfectly.

Ranger's given name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso and that is who I pledged myself to that day on the beach. I had done so with the full expectation that we would immediately be getting divorced upon catching The Rug and that this was the last thing that Ranger wanted. After all, he wasn't into the traditional life style at all, right.

Boy was I wrong.

We caught The Rug the day after our wedding, and delivered him to Ranger's second hand man, Tank. Tank took The Rug back to Trenton, and Ranger and I stayed out our time at the resort. We did couple activities, including romantic dinners, a dinner game show where we were contestants on The Newlywed Game (which we surprisingly won), and the obvious copious amounts of sex and beach time.

When it was time for us to go back to Trenton, we ran into a little snag. Okay, a couple of snags.

One, The Conversation. I asked Ranger when he'd have the divorce papers ready for me. Ranger was noticeably surprised, which for him is a big deal because he hides his emotions well. He asked me why I thought that we would be divorcing, and I asked why the hell he thought we would stay married.

Revelation number one from The Conversation- Ranger was in fact madly in love with me, just completely unable to verbalize this or show it in the normal manner back home.

Revelation number two from The Conversation- I loved Ranger a similar way, but was gun shy after many many many disasters in my personal life. Those disasters were named in order of Joseph Morelli, Dickie Orr, Joseph Morelli, and Dave the Homicidal Maniac.

Snag number two was one of the disasters from the second revelation. Snag number two went by the name Joseph Morelli, and he had been my boyfriend when I left Trenton. He had shown up to sweet talk me out of my anger that he had missed our vacation. The one I had invited him on, but ended up spending with another man.

Snag number two brought the revelation that Joe and Ranger would probably not work well together in the future, since they had busted each others faces when they realized what was going on. In Ranger's defense, Morelli had practically called me a whore. In Morelli's defense, I left town dating him and I was going back married to someone else.

That brings us to snag number three, where the two of them got themselves arrested for the fight they had which damaged several thousand dollars worth of resort property. I ended up leaving them both there and flying back home alone. I didn't answer their calls, and I didn't bail them out. Neither of them. I refused. I didn't even call their mothers.

Not that I could get in touch with Ranger's mother, since I didn't know her name or where she lived. Because hey, nothing says I love you Stephanie like not even introducing me to his mother before he married me.

When I arrived back in Trenton all by myself, my ride, Lula, had many questions. It was four am and I refused to answer them, until now.

I hadn't seen Morelli since getting back from Hawaii.

I had avoided my mother.

I had avoided my husband.

I wasn't ready for the shit storm heading my way.

After telling this sordid tale to Connie and Lula they both looked at me like I was crazy.

"You mean to tell us you married Batman and ain't had him in your panties since you got home? WAIT WAIT WAIT you mean to tell us that Batman couldn't think of no better solution than marrying yo ass legal like, instead of faking it? Girl I hate to tell you this, but Batman got you well and truly trapped. He wanted yo ass and he ain't gonna be letting you bow out. He ain't even make you sign a prenup?"

He hadn't, which showed he had more faith in me than I would have in the reverse circumstances. I sure wouldn't have let some person marry me without a prenup if I was as loaded as Ranger is.

And then, as I was thinking about that, the devil herself came to call on me in the most frightening of ways.

Joe's Grandma Bella. "I put the eye on you! You break my Joseph's heart! You slut! You tramp!"

Joe was following behind her, and he kept mouthing I'm sorry to me.

"Grandma Bella, let's go home. Let's leave Stephanie to be with her friends, and we'll just go home, okay? My heart is fine. Stephanie is not a slut or a tramp. Come on now."

Joe's Grandma Bella is from sicily, and she likes to put the eye on folks. It's an Italian voodoo thing that is questionably real. It's terrifying, just like she is, and the only person she likes is Joe. She's got like fifteen grandkids and like twenty five great grandkids, and he's the only one she likes.

She kept shaking her bony little finger at me as Joe guided her out the door of the office. I hoped I never had to see that woman again, but I knew that was just wishful thinking. And I knew for a fact, Joe and I were still going to be having a conversation about what had happened.

I had a lot of conversations to have, and I was enjoying my stay in denial land while it lasted.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Unfortunately, denial land was not going to last very long. Since I didn't have any skips to pick up, I headed home after talking to Lula and Connie. My apartment was a small one bedroom, one bathroom economically sensible place to live. It had been firebombed multiple times, which was regrettable, but so far the owners of the building hadn't kicked me out and the super, Dillion, hadn't gotten fed up with repairs.

Sitting in my apartment was none other than my mother, Helen Plum. She was cooking, which was something my kitchen rarely saw, so I figured she wasn't too mad at me. She didn't appear to be inebriated, and she hadn't brought her ironing, so I felt relatively safe sitting in the kitchen with her while she finished dinner. Knives weren't something I liked her near when she was angry, although she had yet to actually stab somebody. There's always a first time, and I figured I got into more scrapes than anyone else so I would be the most likely first recipient of a stab wound.

"How'd you get in?" I asked her, hanging my light denim jacket on the chair I was going to sit in.

"Picked your lock. You need better locks, Stephanie, for goodness sakes," she told me.

My apartment was ridiculously easy to infiltrate. I couldn't do it, and I was a little surprised my mother had been able to. Then again, she ran over a rabbit for me, committing vehicular manslaughter. There may be untapped depths to her, that only come out when she needs to defend or corner her offspring.

I watched her putter around in my kitchen, babbling about the various goings on of Chambersburg residents. Dottie Hilton had had a stroke and was in rehab. Linda Carlisle had accidentally dyed her hair lavender at the Clip'N'Curl because she let the color set too long. Brian Figlioni had cheated on his wife with the mailman. My former chemistry teacher, Giovanni Giles, had died of a massive heart attack jacking off.

Shocking things, really, but I knew this was probably her way of easing into the conversation we'd be having over dinner. I wondered what my dad was doing for a meal, since he was usually at the table at six sharp with his knife and fork in hand, ready to chow down with a minimum of words and fuss. I asked mom this and she shrugged.

"I didn't stick around long after telling him I was cooking here and neither he nor your grandmother were welcome. I imagine he will probably go to Pino's."

Something absolutely unheard of! It was a sin, a crime in the Burg to not feed your husband dinner at six. I was happy she was cooking here instead though and that the Spanish inquisition wasn't going to take place at the zoo at her house. It seemed like more and more often my sister and her family was there, mooching dinner off my parents and causing chaos and confusion. Factor in Grandma Mazur and her shenanigans and it was a migraine inducing nightmare after five minutes or less.

"So, let's talk about your vacation. Was it nice?"

Here we go.

"It was very nice. Relaxing."

Keep it to the minimum, maybe she wouldn't pursue it too far, right?

"Oh? What did you and Ranger do on your vacation? Weren't you originally taking Joseph?"

"Yes, originally I was taking Joseph. He couldn't get time off work, though."

She pursed her lips and I knew more was coming. I knew she had noticed my evasion.

"Why did Ranger join you, dear," she tried again.

I sighed, "I spotted one of his FTA's that I am not licensed to apprehend because of the level of the bond. I called him to come pick the guy up."

"Oh? But he stayed with you, isn't that right?"

So far she wasn't losing her shit, and I didn't have any booze here if she wanted to.

"This macaroni and cheese is really good, Mom."

"Don't try to change the subject. Talk to me. Maybe I can help with any… dilemma's… you're having."

Ha! Sure she could.

"So, the place that the FTA was staying was hosting a married couples only retreat. Ranger suggested we get married, and I said no initially. Somehow, I was persuaded to change my mind and we got married. It was a very nice ceremony, actually. I figured we would get divorced after arriving home, and Ranger figured differently. Joe also showed up right after we had that conversation about the status of our marriage, and that was a huge mess. Ranger and Joe both got arrested and I came home instead of bailing them out."

My mom's grip on her fork tightened, and her face pinched in displeasure the more I went on. I could see her trying to keep her calm, and the exact moment she decided to let it all go. She exhaled and then resumed eating. I kept waiting for her to start yelling and criticizing me for what happened, or at least berate me for not bailing them out of jail, and nothing. It was the twilight zone.

I finished my meal and helped her do the dishes in silence. I had expected more from her than this. I had expected anger and frustration, or a lecture. Something, at least. Not this… peaceful silence. Finally I couldn't take it any longer and I burst.

"Mom? Are you okay? Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I'm trying to find my words, Stephanie. I don't want to much up this talk."

That was a new one. Usually she spoke without regard to what she was saying, and a lot of times it came out unintentionally hurtful. I knew she wanted me married and settled down, and I knew she really liked Joe and wanted me safer than I was in my job most days.

"Okay. So, let me make sure I have this situation correct. You found a criminal on your vacation that is bad enough that you are not allowed to take him back to jail. Ranger is, so you called him. This criminal was staying at a place that was having a married couples event, and rather than finding some other solution such as informing the local police that there was a criminal at the resort, or faking marriage documents, or even waiting for the criminal to check out of the resort, Ranger suggested marrying you," she looked to me for confirmation that she had this right so far.

I nodded, and she continued, "You initially said no, and then changed your mind and agreed. You married Ranger on the beach, in Hawaii, thinking you would just get divorced afterward. Ranger married you thinking you would stay married. And when you guys talked about that, Joseph showed up and him and Ranger fought. They ended up in jail, and instead of posting their bail like a good wife and ex-girlfriend/friend, you left them there and came home because you didn't know how to process or handle the situation."

"Yes."

My mother sighed and shook her head, "My God, Stephanie. You sure got yourself into a mess. Have you talked to them since getting back home?"

"No. I saw Ranger briefly at the office today, and I saw Morelli when his crazy grandmother came in to call me a tramp. No real conversations yet. I don't even know what to say to either of them!"

She suggested I start thinking about that, and thinking about what I wanted to do with the entire mess, what I wanted out of my life. Once I figured that out, the conversations would go much easier. She hugged me before she left and I went to go lay down and think like she had suggested.

I really didn't know what I ought to do n regards to the married to Ranger thing. Both my mom and Lula had made good points, and Ranger himself had told me he wanted to stay married. He could have come up with any number of ways to apprehend The Rug that didn't involve marrying me for real. There was no prenuptial agreement, and with the assets Ranger had, he'd be a real idiot to not have me sign some. Ranger was not an idiot.

I loved Ranger. I was madly in love with him, and it was different from the love I had for Joe. Don't get me wrong, I was still in love with two men, which was the story of my life. The difference was, with Joe the love was comfortable, it was old sweatpants and pizza and the ballgame. With Ranger, love was exciting, and new every day. I didn't know if that was just because I knew so absolutely little about him, or if it was because Ranger and I belonged together.

What did I really want out of my life? I didn't exactly love my job, but I enjoyed a lot of aspects of it. I liked setting my own hours, I loved the chase, especially when I got a new lead by using my brain. I liked helping the community. I liked solving mysteries. I didn't want to be a traditional wife. I wanted to go out, work, still be able to hang out with my girlfriends.

I couldn't cook to save my life, and in fact medical services may be required to save the life of anyone I cooked for. That's part of why I always balked at committing to Joe, not to mention that we frequently argued over the dumbest shit. Cross contaminated peanut butter, of all things. The amount of time we yelled at each other, we each could have gone to the store twice and picked up new peanut butter. Sometimes I think we argued just for the sake of it.

That's not to say I didn't love him, because I did. I do. I just don't love him as much as I love Ranger, I think.

Ranger tricked me though, and after all his bullshit over the years, I just couldn't come to terms with the fact that suddenly he wanted to be mine forever and vice versa. Ranger had constantly said things like his life isn't conducive to a traditional relationship, that he was in need of condoms but that a ring would be taking it too far, calling me entertainment. I just couldn't see how we had gone from there to hey I want to marry you without so much as a single date. I didn't even know where he technically lived.

I shot off a text to him asking his real address.

Ranger: _Babe._

Me: _What? I deserve to know where my husbands real home is._

Ranger: _If you want to know for the right reasons, I'll take you there._

Fuck him and fuck it. After I hadn't answered him for twenty minutes I heard my lock tumble and the sound of his boots on the carpet in my hall. He leaned in the doorway and smiled at me.

"I'll take you there, but I won't be giving out my address, what I hope will be our address, over a text message."

I guess I could understand that, with the enemies he had. Shit, even I had enemies that I didn't want to know where I moved whenever I happened to do such.

"It was the principal of the matter. I wanted to see if you'd be more open with me, because I don't really know much about you and here I am, married to you."

"I could see how you might feel that way, but you know a lot more about me than most people. I'll the address here for you, if you want to go check it out yourself. And if you want to, I'd like to invite you to my parents house for dinner in the next few weeks…"

He seemed a little unsure, but he didn't need to. My curiosity would always get the better of me in a situation like this, and he ought to know that.

"I still haven't decided if I want to stay married, Ranger. I definitely still need space from you, to make decisions on my own without you influencing what I decide to do."

"I understand. I'll leave the keys and the alarm code and address on the counter, okay? Go by whenever you want, and call me when you're ready. Or if you have more questions."

He crossed the room and kissed me deeply, definitely influencing my emotions right then, before leaving the stuff on the counter.

I'd go visit the house tomorrow and then maybe I'd manage to talk to Joe, too. I needed to do lots of hard things in the next weeks, and my brain needed sleep to process it all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: characters belong to JE**

Chapter Three

I woke up early for me the next morning, and headed into the bonds office with my coffee and a big box of donuts from the Tasty Pastry. I took a boston crème for myself and left the rest for Connie and Lula. I had sent a text to Joe while I had been waiting in line at the bakery and was going to be meeting him in an hour or so for actual breakfast.

Morelli: Where did you want to eat?

Me: How about the diner near Pino's?

New Jersey was pretty much nothing but diners. We had chain restaurants like Applebee's and IHOP but people didn't really eat there often. We ate at diners and mom and pop owned restaurants, or chain fast food establishments. It was a Jersey thing, like the hair and the attitude.

I had a couple files from Connie that I looked over while I waited to head to the diner. Mooner and Dougie, my stoner skips. I could lure them with some McNugget's if I worked around the Star Trek marathons, and two new idiots.

Idiot number one had decided to set fire to his ex-wife's car, and then when he realized his name was still on the insurance for the vehicle and therefore she couldn't file an insurance claim and he'd be liable for damages, tried to urinate on it to put it out. When his urine failed to put the fire out, he ended up with second degree burns on his penis. I thought this was stupid and yet mildly funny because I knew to step far back when my cars caught fire.

Idiot number two was actually his ex-wife, who had then poured vinegar and salt onto his burned penis. She was charged with aggravated assault.

They lived at different addresses, within five house numbers of each other. Hopefully I could catch them both without them catching on to each other.

"I'm off to meet Joe. I'll try to bring in an idiot or two today."

Connie waved me off, and pursed her lips into the mirror she had painstakingly been applying her make up in. The drive to the diner was short, and I saw Joe's SUV there when I pulled in. He waved at me from a booth in the back, away from prying eyes and nosy ears.

"Hey Cupcake. How are you?"

"Hey Joe. I'm fine. How's the arm?"

He shrugged at me in response.

Ranger had broken Morelli's arm, putting him on desk duty for the time being. He had also been temporarily suspended, because the police department frowns on one of their star detectives getting arrested for assault and destruction of property. In another state. Across the ocean. Yeah.

We ordered breakfast, and then just kind of stared at each other over the table. I had thought this would be even harder than it was currently, but I knew we hadn't even started speaking.

"So, you and Manoso, huh?" he finally asked.

"Ugh. Joe, I swear I don't even know what happened. I told him no, and then for some reason I changed my mind to yes. I asked him about the divorce at the end of our stay, literally right before you arrived, and he told me he wanted to stay married. I don't even know what I want right now."

"Did you think of me at all while you were in Hawaii?"

Oh boy.

I must have made a face because Joe just shook his head for a minute, holding his hand up. He needed to think. I stayed silent until the waitress brought us more coffee, and then he motioned at me to speak again. I was happy with how much he was trying to control his temper.

"I honestly didn't think much of you after I saw The Rug. That's the only reason I called Ranger. When he suggested marriage my thoughts were all of how crazy he must have gone, and how he always said he never wanted that. There were so many other options, and in hindsight he insisted on the marriage I think because he didn't want me to really get away. He just couldn't communicate that properly and that's where I am now," I took a breath before saying, "Joe, I didn't mean to, nor did I want to hurt you. You've been a friend for a long time and I truly think that beyond sleeping together and being great friends we wouldn't have lasted. We just want completely different things out of life and out of marriage."

His chocolate brown eyes pored into my blue ones. Whatever he was looking for he seemed to find because he nodded once and then our food came. We ate in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. He paid for the meal, despite my protests, and I hugged him goodbye with sadness at my car. He hugged me back tightly and I knew that although one aspect of our relationship would never resume we'd always be great friends.

"I'll see you around, Stephanie."

I waved at him as I drove off toward Ranger's house, trying to keep the tears at bay. The drive wasn't very long, Ranger had purchased a plot of land on the outskirts of Trenton and specifically Chambersburg. Our drive to my mothers would be short, but our privacy was guaranteed by the eight foot locked electric fence around the perimeter. I input the code at the gate and drove up the drive. The plot of land was huge, but the house was average sized with an attached garage in the rear and a secondary detached garage. There was a shed close by too.

The front of the house was classic southern plantation. There were baskets of flowers hanging from the lower level porch and rocking chairs set up to the left. There was also a swing to the right of the double doors in the front. I unlocked the house and walked in, really not sure what I expected to find.

The interior matched the exterior. It was classic southern with hardwood flowers and a double curved staircase in the foyer. To the left was a living room done in muted blues and grays with a cream colored rug on the floor. There was a coffee table that matched the hardwood floors, it appeared down to the grain of the wood. It was beautiful and unique. There were two pewter blue gray chairs facing the windows and a deeper gray sofa facing the opposite direction. I followed through the living room to the kitchen. It had new stainless steel appliances but everything was done in white except the floors and the paint on the walls. The walls were a muted mint green. There was lattice work on different parts of the cabinets that I thought should feel chaotic and disorganized but was soothing. I walked the rest of the lower level, seeing a dining room classically done and an office and a library. There was a small restroom off to the one side and then you were back in the foyer. I went up the stairs and walked through the bedrooms. There were five bedrooms and one large area that I figured was supposed to be either a gym or a playroom one day.

The house was beautiful and I was pleasantly surprised not to see crazy high tech things all over the place. It was simple and elegant and relaxing. It was the exact type of place that if I had plenty of money, and actually wanted kids, that I'd pick to raise them in. I sent Ranger a text to that effect and got back a simple "Babe" in response.

I left the property, making sure everything was locked, to go pick up Mooner and Dougie. I stopped st McDonald's my way back in and bought two of everything on the dollar menu for them. I was still full from my breakfast with Joe.

"Dudette!" Mooned exclaimed when I opened the door.

"Hey. I brought food. Is Dougie here? You both forgot your court date again, man."

They came with me willingly and I waited for them to finish their food before dropping them off at the station. I waited in the parking lot for them to get done, and just when they were walking out, a man in a mask and black hoodie yanked my door open and wrenched me out of the car. He had a gun in my face, and then suddenly he and my car were gone and I was lying on the blacktop.

"What the fuck," I said to myself, "what kind of idiot steals a car in a damn police station parking lot."

Two of my cop friends, Carl Costanza and Big Dog, came over to me and helped me up.

"You okay, Stephanie?" Carl asked in concern.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'd like my car back, though. And my purse."

I was glad I'd left the information about Ranger's house in my pocket. Oh shit. I was going to have to call him.

"Can I borrow your phone, Carl?"

He handed it over and I dialed, listening to it ring patiently.

Ranger answered on the fourth ring, "Yo."

"Yo yourself. Some nitwit just stole my car. I was in it when he decided he'd like to use it, and now I am not in it and I need to take Mooner and Dougie home."

"Babe."

He hung up. He needs phone manners. Can't he say goodbye?

Ten minutes later a Rangeman SUV and Rangers 911 convertible pulled into the station lot. I'd given Carl my statement and his phone back, and after securing promises from Mooner and Dougie to call me when they found out their court dates, I got into the car with Ranger.

He drove silently, in his zone, to the mall. I hadn't expected a mall trip. He took me to the phone store for a new phone, and to Victoria's Secret for fun. I disappointed him, I think, by buying only yoga pants and tee shirts. He swiped his credit card, and I decided to let him pay for it even though I usually objected to him spending money on me. After all, we were married now and if he wanted to spend nearly six hundred dollars on bedazzled yoga pants and tee shirts with the word Pink across the chest, who was I to argue?

Instead of taking me to my apartment afterwards, though, he took me to Rangeman. I objected furiously to this, but he stayed stoic and silent until we got to his apartment on the seventh floor. He dropped the bags on the floor by the sofa and went to the kitchen to pour us both a glass of wine.

He put cold pizza on the table in front of us and turned on the game. The Army Navy game. From five years ago. I got the feeling he watched it fairly often and it was therapeutic for him, since he didn't get upset over bad calls like I did, or when the Army had a touchdown.

When the game was over, he flipped off the TV and turned to look at me.

"Babe. We need to actually talk to each other. I know maybe you're not ready just yet, but I do think we need to spend time for you to learn me in ways you don't know me now. For example, it's very frustrating to me that we've spent the better part of this day together and not once have you asked me a personal question or mentioned your breakfast with Morelli," I opened my mouth to reply but he cut me off, "and I'm perfectly fine with the fact you had breakfast with him, but I wish you would have told me a little about your day before the carjacking. I think that's normal stuff couples do."

It was kind of cute that he was uncertain.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Before you rescued me, what did you do today, Ranger?"

He told me about a few client meetings he'd had and I asked a few questions about the different things Rangeman did. I only knew of certain aspects of his company and I was a little ashamed that even when we were just friends stealing kisses I'd never cared to ask more questions.

"It's pretty late. I got your car back, it's in the garage. It's up to you if you stay here or go to your apartment tonight, Babe," he finally said, and when I looked at the clock it was nearing midnight. We'd been talking for hours!

"I'll stay," I told him, and watched the smile break out over his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: not mine**

 **i love your reviews! Keep them coming :)**

Chapter Four

I woke up the next morning wrapped in Ranger's arms. I'd started the night out in a tee shirt and panties, but around three he'd woken me up in the best possible way – his mouth on my promised land, making me forget my own name. We'd spent the next two hours worshipping each other's bodies, and even though I was trying to keep my distance until I'd figured out who we were as a couple, and who he was beyond Ranger the Bad Ass, I couldn't bring myself to say no to the look in his eyes.

Sex with Ranger was out of this world. Always. He could wring an orgasm or six from me without hardly touching me, and when he touched me… well, it kind of made my world stop. It's like he had majored in How To Worship Stephanie's Body and graduated top of his class. I'd never felt as good as I did with him, and that was saying something because Morelli was no slouch.

A lot of times, with Morelli, I think what we did was fuck. We scratched an itch, and we loved each other, but our sexual life was rarely sweet. It was hard, and it was comfortable, but it wasn't making love. He'd never taken the time to love my body. He'd taken the time to prepare it, and make sure I was pleasured for sure. But it wasn't the love that Ranger gave me.

Even when we were fucking hard and fast, even when it was quick and sudden and I ended up with bruises on my body from where his hands gripped me too tight, with Ranger it felt loving.

"What are you thinking about, Babe?" He mumbled sleepily into my shoulder.

"Sex with Morelli," I answered without thinking.

He stiffened behind me and then rolled out of bed. Fuck.

"Wait, wait! That came out wrong, Ranger."

He looked over at me, pulling his cargos on, "there's not much right with thinking of sex with another man when you're in bed with your husband."

"Ugh. I was thinking of the differences," I told him. His eyes had that hard glint to them that I usually didn't see when we were alone, so I hurried on with my explanation, "I was thinking of how no matter rough you and I get, no matter how hard it is, how hurried I always feel loved… I didn't feel like it was ever making love with Morelli, Ranger. Only with you…"

His eyes softened at that, and he seemed to accept it.

"That's because I do love you. That's the difference. I love you, Stephanie. I have to get to work soon, okay? I'll see you later, Babe."

Aw shit. I'd hurt Batman's feelings. I hadn't meant to, but once again my dumb mouth got me into trouble. I decided I wasn't ready to face today and went back to sleep.

When I woke up a few hours later, I decided it was too late to bother with work. Instead, as a sign I wanted to try to make this work with Ranger, I put away the clothes we'd bought yesterday in his closet. Having clothes there that I placed by choice, not that Ella placed, showed I was willing to try to make this work right?

I wrote a note for Ranger that I was going out for the day but that I would be back to take him out for dinner. I called Ella after that to let her know she didn't need to cook for him, and to ask her recommendation on a nicer place to eat.

She recommended The Place, an upscale restaurant about an hour out of Trenton with a limited but classical and healthy menu. It was cooked for and owned by a Gordon Ramsay protégé and I was excited to try it even if I wasn't into health food. Ranger was and tonight was about him, especially because of my faux pas this morning.

I headed to my apartment and fed my hamster, Rex. I perused my closet for something to wear that would be more elegant than my distraction wear but still sexy. I didn't want something I'd worn for Joe, either. I finally found it in the back of my closet. It was a gray sheath dress that came to my knees. It clung in all the right places, and it had a v-neck that didn't show much cleavage. It covered my shoulders and had lace sleeves down the arms, and when I wore it I felt beautiful.

I paired it with the pearl choker Grandma Mazur gave me for my birthday a few years ago, and the matching earrings. I did my hair up very simple in a half updo, with waves rather than curls hanging down, I wore lower heels than I usually did because I wasn't going for a take me to bed look tonight.

Tonight I wanted to be about showing Ranger I was committed to learning more about him, to decide if I truly wanted to stay in the marriage. Yes, I love him, and yes, he loves me. But marriage is more than that. There's all these different things you have to be at least somewhat compatible in to make a marriage work. To make living a life together work.

Joe and I loved each other, but we argued. And argued. And argued. We'd cohabited his house several times and it doesn't always work the way it should. Living with Ranger was something I'd never really done. Sure there was the slayer incident, and there was the random times over the years I had stayed with him but I had never really lived with him, and before I could commit to even trying that I wanted us to learn about one another.

When I went to pick him up for our date, I thought about the things I wanted us to talk about. I knew we were both catholic raised, and I knew he'd grown up in Newark and Miami. He had a sister named Celia and other sisters and brothers. He'd gone to Juvie and he had a daughter who I thought was a pretty awesome person.

There were other things though. I know I could assume his favorite color was black, but I wanted to know for sure. What was his favorite food. Favorite childhood memory. These were things I should know, right? As a wife.

I stopped off at the local florists and I got Ranger a bouquet of flowers. I was going to woo him tonight, and I knew I needed to bring flowers to woo my man. I also grabbed some fruit from the farmers market. Normal people like chocolate, but Ranger isn't normal. He likes roots and grass and weird shit like that. Like salads.

I fobbed my way to the seventh floor and knocked on the door. He opened it wearing a black dress shirt open at the collar, with a sports jacket and dark grey slacks. He smiled when he saw me, and I handed him the flowers and fruit.

"These are for you."

He laughed out loud and kissed me lightly on the lips when he took them.

"Just let me grab my keys and I'll be ready to go, Babe."

I drove his car because it was nicer than mine, but it was my date and I was leading it. When we arrived at The Place I told the hostess we had reservations under Manoso and she immediately sat us. I selected a wine, even though I knew nothing about it, and Ranger and I ordered.

"I decided I'd like to maybe try to see where getting to know each other takes us. I'd like it to take us to living together before I decide for sure what it is I want. I know that might not be fair, but I feel like I don't know enough about who you are and what made you who you are to make that decision right now."

He nodded and looked into my eyes, "I understand that, Stephanie. I'd like to start by you trying to call me Carlos. It's my name, Babe."

That was going to be weird, but I'd give it my best shot.

"Okay, Carlos. Tell me about your favorite food."

And he did. He answered every question I had. The night was perfect all the way until we got back into Trenton. He had held my hand through the drive, and I'd let him drive the car home. I had planned on staying with him on seven instead of returning to my apartment, and we had just pulled into Trenton city limits when a car screeched through an intersection and t-boned us.

Ranger's Porsche was well equipped to handle being t-boned since he had all his cars reinforced with bulletproof glass. His Porsche wasn't equipped to handle being t-boned twice, though, and right after the car t-boned us, so did a huge delivery truck. The car had gone into the drivers side, and the truck into the passenger side. The airbags deployed, and the car crunched, and all I could feel was pain everywhere. Blood dripping down my face from where I must have hit my head.

I was so fuzzy, and everything was happening in a weird sort of time. Ranger trying to talk to me, and the paramedics showing up the next second, and then suddenly being in the hospital with nurses running and screaming over me.

I hoped I'd be alright. I was just going to take a little nap now, though.

My last thought before slipping under was that I hoped Carlos was okay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: not mine!**

 **a/n: sorry this took so long. I've been trying to get it perfect and after many attempts I gave up for good enough. Also dealing with preschool registration and the confirmed suspicion my four year old has a speech impediment/delay. I've brought it up to doctors since he was 14-16 months old - he didn't talk until 2 - and they insisted (4 different offices!) nothing was wrong. Now he's about a year behind for his age. In addition to that, dealing with toilet issues. That same child put a mouthwash cap down my toilet. The good news is I found out our septic was full. The bad news is I had the pleasure of doing yard and house work with my landlord and his wife for 3 straight days! Also I'm going on vacation this weekend and preparing stuff for a friends baby shower. I'll try to update at least one if these fics while I'm doing all that**

Chapter Five

I knew where I was the second I opened my eyes, and I wanted to leave. I didn't even know what was wrong with me, but I sure didn't want to stay in hospital with its hospital food, and it's doctors, and the nurses who never let you sleep.

I turned my head to the left and there was Carlos, sitting there with a rosary in one hand. His other hand was in a cast, which was in a sling. He looked up at me when I turned to look at him and the brightest smile lit his face.

"Babe!"

He was excited I was awake. I was excited to be alive. Could we be excited at home.

"What's wrong with me," I asked him, my throat scratchy.

He grimaced and I knew it couldn't be good.

"You have a concussion. You had to have glass pulled out of your head and stitches put in. Otherwise, you're just bruised up. Except..."

"What? Except what?"

He sighed, which is unheard of for Ranger. "They had to remove one of your kidneys. You'll be fine with just one, but the one they took out had ruptured in the accident."

I still felt like that wasn't all of it, but okay.

After a thorough examination by the doctor, I was released into Carlos's care. He was handed my discharge papers and told to bring me back in if the concussion got worse or I had any other symptoms. Ranger showed me some pictures of the Porsche after we left, and I thought we were honestly lucky to be alive.

We went back to the apartment on seven, and Carlos puttered around in the kitchen, putting together a light meal for us. I was absolutely famished, and I wanted nothing more than a Boston crème donut but decided not to push my luck with Carlos because he was quite upset still.

I checked my phone and had thirty-seven missed calls and texts. The calls were mostly from my mother, grandmother, and two were from Joe. Well, one was from the police station and one was from his personal cell. I read through my texts, and glared at Ranger.

Mary Lou: omg I heard about the accident. Are you okay? What happened? All Ranger will tell anyone is that you had surgery but are fine.

Connie: I hope you heal soon! Vinnie's having a cow that you'll be out of commission.

Lula: white girl, you scared my beautiful black ass! I'll bring you some donuts when you go home! If Batman lets you go home, that is.

Vinnie: damn you! I gave you a job and you go on vacation and then get yourself in an accident. I'm not made of money!

Joe: hope you're okay. Manoso isn't giving anybody much info.

I listened to some of the messages from my mom and grandma and both were super concerned because they'd seen the Porsche on the news and all Ranger would tell them was that I was fine. No details. Just fine. They appreciated knowing that, but were understandably still scared.

Ranger had bruised ribs. Not even anything from the impact of the airbags. He'd already replaced the Porsche, and I knew he'd dealt with both other drivers. In fact, the company the delivery truck driver worked for offered him a settlement for my pain and suffering. I was on some pretty great drugs and was only a little sore so I wasn't sure I needed the settlement they were offering but I was not given a choice in the matter.

I took a shower, grimacing as raising my arms to wash my hair pulled my stitches. I felt like a truck hit me, probably because one did. I looked at myself in the mirror when I got out and ran my fingers across some of the deeper bruises. My head hurt, my entire physical being hurt. I was stiff and I hated needing surgery of any kind.

I rejoined Ranger at the breakfast nook for dessert because I felt like I'd earned it. I had hardly complained in the hospital, and I ate the healthy meal of grilled chicken and white rice he had forced upon me. Ella had made me chocolate cake, which I appreciated more than I could verbalize.

Ranger watched me eat it, and I looked into his eyes for a moment before deciding not to complain about the limit of only one slice.

We loaded around the apartment, Ranger completing some work and me watching Hotel Hell and marveling at some of those people's ideas of hospitality. Some of those kitchens made me not ever want to eat out again, and I was hard to scare off food. I loved food. Food was love in my family.

"This is frightening, Babe."

"What?" I hadn't realized he was watching.

"I feel like I need to go inspect Ella's kitchen and take a shower to wash the grime I'm seeing in this hotel off me. I'd be wearing a hazmat suit if I was Ramsay. This is nastier than Stark."

Yikes. That was saying something. Stark street was the dregs of Trenton. It was home to gangs, drug dealers, hookers and users. All of that together made it exceptionally nasty, and the cops rarely got called there despite the insane crime rate of that street alone. I'd had to do pick ups both by myself and with Ranger on Stark and it worked out a lot better with him by my side.

A lot of things did.

I leaned my head on his shoulder on the couch, and closed my eyes. I was very sore, and I still felt like he wasn't telling me something. I didn't want to rock the boat though because I was truly enjoying this time with him, and it was giving me a glimpse what normal married life with him would be like. Even though we were not normal people, maybe there was the chance we could have a normal life.

That was my last thought before waking up the next morning, Ranger wrapped around me with tears quietly coursing down his cheeks. We were facing each other, and I reached up and wiped them away with my thumb.

He was so good at hiding his emotions that seeing his vulnerability was shocking. It was rare to see blatant displays of emotion or affection from Ranger, and the idea that there was anything that would make him cry… well, it was a little early in the day to come to this realization.

"What's wrong, Carlos?" I asked him softly.

"I almost lost you. That's the closest I think I've come. It's not something I could have prevented or changed or done anything about…"

I knew what he was saying. He trained, and could identify a risk or a situation that could get he shot. He could even put himself in front of me. But none of that would work with a car accident. It's a highly uncontrollable situation, because most of the time you can't predict or even see it about to happen. You're just thrown into that situation and it's nothing like when someone threatens me, or him.

"I love you. I want to stay with you here. I'm sorry I couldn't make my mind up," I told him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: No one belongs to me!**

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay, although I do think I warned about it on one of my stories. Anyways - I probably won't be updating too much here for the next few weeks/months, but I will try. I am currently in the process of moving, with the 3 kids - one of whom is actively exploring the house now, so let's just say I'm tired haha. Then I have two WIP for profit - one entitled Lost Within Herself, which is emotionally draining to write - in the best way! Then a third I am co-writing with a friend. Plus I started a new Babefic I promised myself I wouldn't publish until I had several chapters - Here's a hint, 2 important females in Ranger's life are going through something and he has mixed feelings. Where I am moving I probably will not have internet, so that is going to be HELL. Anyways, my tired and fried brain can't think of anything else to tell you guys, so here is the long awaited update!**

Chapter Six

Things were mostly smooth for three weeks after that, although I felt like he was keeping secrets still. He was trying harder to open up to me, to make me feel like I meant as much as he said I did. He was trying to prove that this marriage was one he wanted, and I appreciated that. I did wish it could have come about without the bodily injury, but you take what you can get right?

We stayed in evenings together, watching anything with Gordon Ramsay in it and cuddling on the sofa. We talked, and he didn't push me physically because of the surgery recovery. We just spent more time getting to know each other. It was blissful, and although I knew he was still hiding something from me, I didn't think it was that bad, or even anything I had to know.

This lasted until my follow-up appointment at the hospital, where the kind doctors who treated me before saw me in their offices rather than on the floor of the hospital.

"How's everything going, Mrs. Manoso?" the doctor who had taken out my kidney asked me.

"Fine, sir. I'm sore, but otherwise I feel alright. Still quite a bit tired," I told him.

"Well, that won't be going away anytime soon!" he told me pleasantly.

"What now? Excuse me?" I had not signed on for being tired all the time. That was not in my plans.

No, sirree. I liked to sleep, but I also liked occasionally having energy. There was absolutely nothing that could make the trade-off worthwhile.

"Didn't Mr. Manoso tell you?" now the good doctor seemed confused.

Like I was.

I shook my head vehemently no, and the doctor sighed, beleaguered I suppose at being the one who had to crash my world.

"Well it seems you're pregnant… About 9 weeks is my estimation. I wouldn't have suspected if I hadn't had to perform the kidney removal, but I noticed some signs on the uterus and had the lab test your blood… everything was going fine when you left here."

Okay wait. I could swear that doctor just pregnant, as in with child, as in baby.

Like I was going to be having a baby.

Like there was a baby growing inside of me.

No. That couldn't be right.

"Excuse me, did you say pregnant?"

I must have looked frightening, because the doctor looked scared. Of me. Lots of times I had managed to scare Kloughn, my brother-in-law, and some of my FTA's, but I hadn't managed to scare anyone else with just a look lately.

"Y-e-e-s-s-s ma'am," he stuttered.

I got off the exam table, waved goodbye, and stormed out. When I got to the waiting room where I had left Carlos, I grabbed him by the ear on my way past and started tugging. I'm sure he could have dislodged me if he tried, but he didn't. Instead I heard muttered prayers in a mix of English and Spanish, and then a few "oh shit's" for good measure, I'm guessing.

I grabbed the keys from him when we got to the Porsche and then I started the car.

I was driving.

He clambered into the passenger seat, rubbing his ear and still praying. Technically I hadn't been cleared to drive yet, but I didn't give a shit. I slammed the car into gear and pealed out of the lot, with Ranger trying to secure his seatbelt still.

"PREGNANT?" I screamed at him as I slammed the brakes at a red light.

"Babe, I-"

"YOU DIDN'T THINK I WOULD WANT TO KNOW I WAS PREGNANT?!"

"Well, Babe, I just didn't-"

"Didn't what? Think?!"

"Babe, I'd appreciate if you would just slow-"

I slowed the car down just a little, and looked over at him. He was almost white. I pulled us into the Rangeman garage, and looked at the dash. I'd made a twenty minute trip in seven minutes, and I didn't even care if he got a ticket.

"You should have told me," I said, after I'd parked and we had been sitting there for a minute. "I had the right to know."

I left him in the car, because I wasn't up to the excuses today. I just wanted to go process this news the way I should have been able to when everyone found out three weeks ago. Not from being surprised by a doctor that had told my husband but hadn't seen fit to mention it to me.

I could have known, though, if I had read my own discharge papers, I told myself. I couldn't place all the blame on Carlos. He didn't deserve it.

I sent him a quick text, _Hey, I just need a few hours to process. Then we can talk. I'm sorry for being crazy. Love you._

Carlos: _You're right. I should have told you. I'm sorry and I love you, too, Babe._

How was I supposed to stay mad at that?


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: No one belongs to me.**

 **A/N: Guys, I'm so happy I've been able to do some writing. Same deal as with FFHB - 20 more reviews (so get us to 80 reviews) and I will update some time next week! Apparently, they're feeding me. I wrote this fairly quickly while burning brownies and making meatloaf for my husbands D &D campaign players, plus the kiddos are all sick, so please PM me if I've made any major mistakes. Quality isn't perfect, and it isn't quite where I wanted it to go, but here it is anyway**

Chapter Seven

I went right to our bedroom in the apartment on seven, and changed. I needed time to process, but I couldn't do that where Carlos might come in at any moment. While he was certainly going to give me space, I also knew that I couldn't keep him out of his home forever. I went back down to the garage, and I drove straight to my parents house. I hadn't seen my dad since he found out I was married, and my mom and I hadn't been in touch since the conversation at my apartment awhile ago.

Mom answered the door with Grandma Mazur by her side. They had some type of child returning home ESP that I hoped I also would develop, since I was now going to be the recipient of a brand new baby. My baby, with Carlos, who I really did love more than anything.

Since these thoughts were a little too frightening for me to contemplate right this moment, I moved myself firmly back into denial land and got out of the car.

My parents have lived in the same house my whole life. It's a duplex and they recently bought the other half off their elderly neighbor and gifted it to my sister and her eight thousand daughters. Valerie was always the good girl growing up, and she had dutifully gotten married and provided them with five grandchildren in thirteen years. To the frequent dismay of my father, they were all girls. My mother was just happy to have grandchildren from one of her kids.

Valerie was married to the Pillsbury dough boy, Albert Kloughn. He was a nice enough guy, but absolutely terrified of everything. He was nervous and unable to stand up for himself about eighty percent of the time. In fact, he had to be forced to marry my sister. He had nightmares for weeks before their scheduled wedding and they both ran away.

"Stephanie, what a nice surprise!" my mother said to me as I sat down at her kitchen table.

Even as my parents remodeled different parts of my childhood home, with the kitchen being the first, it never lost that sense of home. It was like walking into an emotional time warp, and I couldn't imagine another place ever feeling like this one did. There were so many memories wrapped up in these walls, and many of them took place in this kitchen.

Doing homework after school, trying to learn to cook - and failing miserably! Not to mention the mom talks; this is not what good catholic girls do, why can't you be like so and so's daughter, and the wedding planning. Both mine and my sisters first weddings, and my sisters second, too. Her first ended with her husband running off with the babysitter; my first ended with my thankfully now ex-husband banging the town whore on my dining room table.

"So, how are you feeling? Carlos said you had surgery, and I know we haven't talked much since the accident," Mom inquired.

"I'm really tired all the time. And right now, I'm also pretty upset. Apparently when they did the surgery, the surgeon noticed some things going on with my uterus, so he had tests done. I'm pregnant," I waited for the excitement to die down, "and the doctor told Carlos, but no one told me until today. So I had no idea and I felt absolutely blindsided."

Grandma pushed her dentures around in her mouth, and Mom pursed her lips. They sat at the table with me with cookies from the cookie jar that has sat in my Mom's kitchen for more years than I can count, and tall glasses of milk. This was a ritual in my family, and one I was thankful for.

Finally Grandma spoke, "I don't think it was right for your husband not to tell you that - for the doctor to not tell you personally - but I do think that Carlos acted in what he thought were your best interests."

I thought about that, and I could agree. Carlos didn't want me to freak out. I surely would have freaked out if he had told me three weeks ago, and it would not have been pretty. In fact, there's a good chance I would have acted rashly and that the stress of the decisions and choices I had facing me would be vastly overwhelming to me physically. It could have delayed my healing.

Beyond that, though, I felt like he was being a macho controlling man, and I told my family that.

"Well, that might be true. And I do think he should have told you well before now. But Stephanie, you have always said you don't want children. Your marriage is barely started, it wasn't something you wanted to begin with. In my opinion, not telling you right away was the right decision on his part, but I can't help but think it breaks all kinds of laws on the doctors part."

That was true. I wasn't sure how doctor rules worked, but I was a hundred percent certain that doctors had to tell a cognitive patient their diagnoses and make sure they were aware of what the after care looked like. This was not that.

"How do you feel about the baby, Stephanie?"

I shrugged. I reflected on what I was feeling, and could honestly find nothing but happiness and fear inside. I was scared I wouldn't do a good job, that I was not capable of mothering anyone let alone someone who would depend on me for everything. I didn't know how to change a diaper or install a car seat, and I didn't know what to do if my child got sick. That was terrifying. In roughly seven months, a small human being was going to rely on me for everything, and it wouldn't even be able to talk yet. However, I couldn't have chosen a better partner to be by my side. Carlos was devoted and although his life was occasionally dangerous and solitary, I believe that at his heart he was a family man. He would be a wonderful father to any child we had, he was a wonderful father to a child he hadn't even wanted in the first place.

I told my mother as much, and she smiled. "All will be well, Stephanie. Why don't you go home. I bet Carlos is worried sick."

I said my goodbyes, and I took the proffered bag of cookies. Driving back to Rangeman in a daze, I didn't even notice the POS cop car tailing me until it pulled me over. Aw crap. I watched Morelli get out of the crappy tan vehicle, and when he grinned at me, I grinned back in the rearview.

"Hey, Steph. You were driving a little erratically and ran a few red lights. Patrol called me since they knew it was you."

I shrugged, "Sorry. A lot on my mind."

He got in the passenger seat and waited for me to elaborate.

"Apparently, there's a new Manoso coming soon. I just wasn't aware I was growing it today and it caused some… issues."

Morelli clenched his jaw. This was literally his dream, the way he thought his life would play out, and instead of it happening with him it was happening with a guy he hated and had resented for years.

"Congratulations," he finally told me. "Are you happy?"

"I am now. I wasn't when I first found out. Mostly, I'm scared."

Morelli looked like he was about to say something when my phone rang, and I answered it on the Bluetooth.

"Hey Babe. Do you need roadside? Control said your car has been parked there for a few minutes," Carlos said, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Morelli is with me, he pulled me over for driving a little wonky. I'm okay now that I know I need to actually pay attention."

"Ranger," Morelli said, "I'll follow her to you to be sure that she does okay getting home."

Carlos thanked him, and I hung up. I hugged Morelli with one arm before he got out, and then watched in the rearview as he went back to his car. He followed me home, as promised, and I waved him off when I pulled into the garage. He was a much better friend than he had been a boyfriend, and I was appreciative to have him.

Now it was time to face the music, and to have a serious conversation with Carlos.

Me: _Done processing. Ready to talk. Want to go to Point Pleasant?_

Carlos: _Be right down. 3_


End file.
